Ten Years After The Fact
by E.G. Potter
Summary: Book based, not movie based. Set ten years after the epilogue. Follows Waverly on a little adventure of hers.


A/N: Yeah.. This is something new. I found it on my computer. I wrote it a couple of months back for my English class. Our prompt was to write about 10 years after the epilogue in the book.. Soo.. enjoy! :)

* * *

Waverly hated spiders. With a passion. They were creepy and crawly and just plain gross. Which was why she was frozen, standing in the forest, surrounded by spiders. She wised that she had her father's sword, the forest spiders were afraid of it's shininess. She also wished that Vreal was with her. Nothing amused the cat more than chasing spiders. But no. Waverly was stuck in the forest with only her horse who was just as afraid of spiders as she was. Suddenly, she heard a noise. Somewhere behind her, a twig snapped. Sef, her horse, reared and whinnied but didn't take a step. Another twig snapped. Waverly pivoted where she stood. Taking her small wooden blade from her belt, she said, "Show yourself!"

A boy about her age, clad in gray, stepped out of the trees. He had dark curly hair and lively brown eyes. Waverly had never seen him before. "Are you Waverly?" he asked.

"What's it to you, boy?" Waverly shot at him, tighten her grip on the wood in her hand.

"Forgive me. Where are my manners? My name is Lucas. Your parents have hired me on as the new horse groom," he extended his hand toward her. "It's nice to meet you."

She ignored his hand. "Why am I supposed to believe you?"

Lucas pulled back his hand. He looked uncomfortable. "Well, I…" he scratched his head. "That's a good question."

Suddenly, two figures came crashing out of the woods behind him. One was thin and held a sword and the other was rather large.

"Inigo! Shade!" Waverly cried. Upon seeing Inigo's blade, the forest spiders had screamed and fled.

"Keed!" Fezzik burst.

"Hello, miss." Inigo said, sheathing his blade. "You father sent us after the new stable boy whom he sent after you upon seeing that you had not returned from your afternoon ride."

Lucas, with his back to the adults, stuck his tongue out at Waverly. "Told you so," he mouthed.

Waverly shoved him as she made her way toward her friends.

"What kept you, Keed?" Fezzik asked as Waverly hugged him.

"Well," Waverly said. "Sef and I were just about to turn back when Sef threw a shoe. The shoe landed in a spider-berry bush and we were surrounded by spiders."

Both adults nodded, knowing of both the girl's and horse's fear of arachnids.

Lucas interrupted, "I'm sorry, but what on Earth do spiders have to do with anything?"

Turning on her heel, Waverly fixed him with a glare. "As it so happens, both Sef and I are deathly afraid of spiders."

Lucas' eyebrows disappeared into his curls and his mouth formed a perfect 'o', "Okay…" he trailed off.

"Come, miss." Inigo said. "I and my blade shall go first, followed my Fezzik and Sef and then you shall be escorted by the stable boy."

A little less than thrilled to have to walk next to the obnoxious newcomer, Waverly grudgingly agreed.

As they made their way back to the house, Lucas tried to start a conversation. "So Waverly. Do you always ride in the forest?"

She ignored him.

He tried again, "Do you _like _riding?"

Once more, she ignored him.

He was getting frustrated. "You know, _miss_," he said, laying a heavy emphasis on the last word. "I'm beginning to think that you don't like me very much."

"Really?" Waverly said. "Why would you think that?" She rolled her eyes at him.

"Well. Your sarcasm's a big clue!" the boy shot back.

"Lucas," Waverly said, stepping over a stick. "How old are you?"

"I'll be fifteen in two months," he told her proudly. "How old are you?"

"I'll be eleven in next week," she said shortly.

Lucas looked shocked. "Really? I would have sworn you were older!"

"Lots of people say that." Waverly chanced a glance at him. He was staring at her incredulously.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they finally reached the grounds, Fezzik handed Sef's reins to Lucas.

"I trust that you'll fit him with a new shoe?" Waverly said, eying the boy.

Lucas was taken aback. "Oh. Yes'm." He bowed gallantly.

"Then you're dismissed," Waverly turned toward the house. "Inigo, did mother say when dinner would be?"

"Soon," was the Spaniard's reply.

And so, in that way was the relationship of Waverly and Lucas. She tolerated him and he did what he was told, taking care of the entire stable. One day, six months after the day in the forest, Waverly went down to the stable with a specific intent of talking to the stable boy.

It was a rather warm day and there was only a slight breeze. When Waverly reached the stable, it was rather stuffy. Nonetheless, she was rather surprised to see Lucas without a shirt.

"Miss," Lucas greeted her. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing," Waverly replied, sitting down on the gate of Sef's stall.

And so, in that way was the relationship of Waverly and Lucas. She would come down to the stable, sit down and just watch him work. Sometimes they would talk and sometimes they would not. It just depended. And in this fashion, with one thing or another, four years passed.

One day, in the fall, as Waverly was preparing her new horse Murren for their afternoon ride, she asked Lucas a question: "How old are you?"

It had been almost five years since she had first asked him that question. Over that almost five years, they had become friends. And both had grown into reasonably good-looking teenagers. And Lucas was almost certain that he was in love with Waverly.

"I am nineteen now, miss." He said, looking at her. "How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen." She said, looking at him.

"Really?" he asked. "I would have thought that you were older." The girl smiled. " Yes, lots of people say that."

"Do many people also comment on your beauty?" He asked, his mouth moving faster than his mind.

She paused, surprised by his question. "Um. Some _might _have mentioned it, I don't pay them much attention."

"Hm." Lucas said, stepping closer to the girl. "I would have thought that more folks would have said something."

She smiled at him, running a hand through her auburn hair.

And Lucas was almost certain that he was in love with Waverly.

"You know something, Lucas?" Waverly said.

"What, Waverly?" He smiled at her. And Lucas was almost certain that he was in love with Waverly.

"My father was a simple farm boy when my mother fell in love with him." She shifted from foot to foot. "And you were but a simple stable hand when I fell in love with you."

He looked at her, surprised. "Am I not still 'but a simple stable hand', miss?"

"Well. You're not simple any more." She said. "And I am very certain that I am in love with you."

"Well. That's good, because I am extremely certain that I am in love with you." And he kissed her.

Westley snuck out of the stable quietly. Upon relating the entire story to his wife, she had but one thing to say: "Why is it always the hired help?"


End file.
